Ex-Chancellor Schröder's close ties to Moscow are causing a lot of trouble in his party. The longtime social democrat and ex-Daimler boss Reuter thinks this is exaggerated. "Mr. Schröder is an old gentleman" who shouldn't be taken too seriously.
The former Daimler boss and longtime social democrat Edzard Reuter advises more composure in view of the party expulsion proceedings against ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. "I would simply hang the Gerhard Schröder case three dimensions lower," said the 94-year-old Reuter of the "Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung". "And I don't give a damn whether he's in the party or not, because: He no longer plays a role and he will no longer play a role," added Reuter.
Edzard Reuter is the son of the former Berlin mayor Ernst Reuter and was CEO of Daimler-Benz from 1987 to 1995. Reuter has been a member of the SPD since 1946. "I have had such a long personal relationship with Gerhard Schröder that I really don't like to comment on things that affect him personally and his character idiosyncrasies," emphasized Reuter. "But a party has to ensure that it follows a substantive line to some extent, not everyone can always trumpet something," he added. "Mr. Schröder is a gentleman who has grown old - not quite as old as I am - who shouldn't be taken so seriously," said Reuter.
Schröder has long been criticized for his close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian oil and gas industry. Even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, many comrades in his party are of the opinion that Schröder has not sufficiently distanced himself from Russia. In the first week of August, the arbitration commission of the SPD sub-district Region Hannover wants to decide on a possible party expulsion. However, the legal hurdles for a party penalty or even an exclusion are very high.
Schröder was in Moscow just a few days ago - allegedly to "take a few days' vacation," as he told ntv. Schröder also traveled to Moscow in March and met Russia's President Vladimir Putin there.
